On the recordFebruary 11, 2025
do you remember where you were on September 11? Most Americans do. I do. I was right outside that door. I was in a meeting at 9 in the morning. And as we had the meeting, we looked down the Mall. We were watching a little television set, and we saw these planes flying into skyscrapers in New York. Nobody could quite understand what was going on. First, we thought it was an accident, as most people probably felt the same way. Then, when the second plane hit, we knew there was more. Then, there came a moment when somebody said: Look down the Mall. We looked down the Mall and saw black smoke billowing across the Mall here in Washington from the Pentagon, because a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. And there was this moment where people didn't know which way to turn, where to get answers, what was going on. Someone came racing into the room and said: Evacuate the Capitol Building. Another plane is coming directed toward this building. We all raced out down the steps and stood on the lawn outside, didn't know which way to turn, had no idea what was going on. Tourists were coming up to me because I had a suit and tie on and saying: Where are we supposed to go? I told them where the Metro stations were and pointed in several directions. That is a day you won't forget. Most of us, I am sure, felt at that point that we had to figure out what happened first and to stop it from ever happening again. So where did we turn?…





